Goodies from vacation. Be back later tonight.

A-l-i-c-i-a

>

> Lately Alicia has been trying to spell her own name. she even tried
> writing it the other day, see the bright pink squiggles. When she
> wrote it she aaid "a-i-c-i-a" she always leaves off the l , we call
> of the silent L. :). Getting closer to it!! Now if only she'd say
> her name when asked instead of the typical "me"..
>

why?!

Just recently this last week, Alicia has been asking "why?!" about things... I'm not sure if she knows exactly what that word means just yet, but it is a good conversational piece for her I guess. such as when we tell her to do things or not to do things, this phrase "but, why" or "why" comes flying back to us lately...

Also, Alicia has been in a climbing mood... climbing and counting stairs, climbing and standing on toilet seats-furniture-and the latest, even daddy! (see below, where I caught her in the act...)

happy birthday Grandpa Mike!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Mike, or as Alicia has been saying lately - "Papa"

Moving the Arnolds

We made it back to Dubuque on Friday to help Aunt Ann Louise and Uncle Todd move from their apartment to their new house in Asbury.  It was a really nice day on Friday, so the moving started a bit earlier than expected due to the upcoming rain.  

After we moved the boxes from the apartment, we kinda chilled out in the house for a bit and enjoyed some Godfathers pizza.  Alicia had a good time playing the "Mickey Mouse/Donald Duck" game with Grandpa,  She claimed an empty box there and played in it for a good hour or 2.  Then she found the chest (i'm sure there's a better word for it) that Auntie Up won at a work auctioin.  Its pretty cool, as it fits in the kitchen, and Alicia likes to think its her personal hiding spot.  She would sit in the middle and with the doors closed, she'd jump out.  then jump back in.  It was quite cute.

Anyways.. We had a good trip seeing everyone again.... and look forward to our return after our disney trip.  

A few other highlights from the trip:

*  She said her name was Alicia (or something similar) to Auntie Up.... but now still calls herself me.

*  She helped Ann Louise/Todd put the pans away... Mommy may have to post the pic of this from her phone.  it was cute.

*  She was able to name Tony and Ann from the wall of pictures.  This was a first to my knowledge.

anyways.. its late.. time for bed.

Should daddy be worried?

Looks like Alicia is starting to take after Mommy. Not that mommy shops a lot, but when she does, she usually chooses expensive stuff. Alicia has already mastered the multiple bags, as well as the top notch bags (Tiffany and coach). This could be bad.

tea party at grandmas

A couple of weeks ago when we stayed over at Grandma Kloss's house, Alicia had a cold and the poor thing wasn't feeling so hot. Within probably an hour or so at Grandma's house, Alicia got sick :( Luckily Grandma was there to help her feel better, as within about an hour or so of Alicia's sicky episodes, she settled down in Grandma's chair and decided to watch some movies and have a popsicle and all seemed better. Later that evening, Alicia had a big tea party and she set her table and then poured tea for everyone, and did such a good job sharing her tea and using her manners. Alicia has been doing a good job lately saying "thank you" and "you're welcome" while she needs to work on her "please" more rather than "i want *this or that*".

Grandma had all of the cool "original" Fisher Price toys saved back for Alicia to play with. Alicia got to play with mommy's old cash register and fun stove that I think cooked for hours upon hours on in my younger days, as well. oh the nostalgia...